Books

Nuno Bandeira left the Catholic Church when he was 8 years old and didn’t come back to Christianity until his late 30s, after having a series of conversations with a friend in which he found that Christian beliefs “resonated with me.” In between, he spent about three decades as an atheist, became...

Millions of Americans read “American Sniper,” and millions more saw the movie. Most were mesmerized, deeply moved, and ultimately even more appreciative of what our military – and their families – endure on a daily basis. What they must do to keep us – and each other – safe. With the current controversy...

Canyon Crest Academy’s Creative Writing Club recently announced a series of free writing workshops for middle school students. As of March 4, students can learn about plot, characterization, setting and much more from bestselling and award-winning published authors. The CCA Creative Writing Club...

It’s a Saturday morning and the Canyon Crest Academy campus is quietly empty except for an auditorium filled with writers, pens in hand, awaiting inspiration. “I’m looking at a room full of teen writers, how incredible is that?” asked New York Times bestselling author Jonathan Maberry. Maberry...

Canyon Crest Academy’s Creative Writing Club recently announced the final speaker list for the 5th Annual Canyon Crest Academy Writers’ Conference. Best-selling authors and many other writing professionals will provide inspirational and educational workshops to students of San Diego area high schools....

Although written from the heart, Alex Woodward’s new album and book share another’s story. Two years ago the award-winning author and singer-songwriter received a package from a fan that inspired the project. The box contained a 1968 photograph of young U.S. Air Force Sgt. John K. Fuller in Vietnam,...

The Friends of the Solana Beach Library will hold a Holiday Book Sale inside the Solana Beach Library, 157 Stevens Ave, Solana Beach, from Dec 1-Dec. 31. On sale will be a collection of individually priced “new and nearly new” books suitable for gift giving, including a collection of children’s...

She’s received the NERO and the RITA awards, been nominated for the Macavity and the Edgar, and none other than Stephen King has said she is better than Michael Crichton — and invited her to play her fiddle in his Rock Bottom Remainders band. Her books have been published in 40 countries and sold...

Ten years ago this month, Encinitas screenwriter Jennifer Gremillion was living in New Orleans, not realizing that a storm brewing deep into the Atlantic Ocean would change her and her family’s lives forever. “It was a very difficult time,” Gremillion recalled from her North County home. “Everyone...

Michelle Gable is nothing if not determined. She started writing in the fourth grade and saw her first book, “A Paris Apartment,” debut just shy of her 40th birthday — and it went on to become a national best-seller, something rare for a new author. Gable, who grew up in Del Mar and graduated from...

Encinitas resident Richard Fitchen is working on a five-book, historical fiction series spanning America’s history. In other words, he’s ambitious. While many authors would quiver at the thought of such a herculean project, Fitchen said he “can’t hardly wait to get started writing in the mornings.”...

A mob descended on Ducky Waddle’s Emporium on June 13. But it wasn’t an angry one. Rather, it was a cash mob. The idea is simple: Organizers pick a local business and urge people to shop there at a specific time. In this case, Encinitas resident Tiffany Fox came up with the idea of a cash mob after...

Like other independent bookstores across the nation, Ducky Waddle’s Emporium is riding the crowdfunding wave. The Leucadia staple has a treasure trove of rare art, poetry, collectibles and books — customers may find out-of-print John Steinbeck or Ernest Hemingway novels, for instance. But years...

The International Association of Culinary Professionals (IACP) announced its annual award winners last week, which included Encinitas-based author Daron “Farmer D” Joffe for his book, “Citizen Farmers: The Biodynamic Way to Grow Healthy Food, Build Thriving Communities, and Give Back to the Earth,”...

A New York Times best-selling author, Eric Blehm is known for telling the stories of those who serve. His latest, “Legend,” recounts the experiences of U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Roy Benavidez, who rescued fellow soldiers trapped behind enemy lines during the Vietnam War. While now a well-regarded...

Having helped herself, today Lesley Wirth is now able to help others. A Cardiff resident, Wirth works as a life coach and counselor and recently released a self-help book called “Own Your Worth: A Spiritual Journey Through Food Compulsion to Self-Love.” Every word is inspired by her 13-year battle...

For local author Kevin Lydy, everyday scenes or events — so subtle that generally they would go unnoticed — through his eyes become a catalyst for a great story. As a witness to these prosaic scenes, Lydy felt compelled to capture them and to re-imagine them into a creative work of fiction. The...

Since his first book, “Nowhere Yet,” came out in 2012, Edward Cozza’s life has been filled with what he likes to call “wow” things. “Being honored with three Beverly Hills Book Awards was a ‘wow’ thing,” said the Encinitas author. “Going to New York to receive the IPPY gold medal from the Independent...

Encinitas has often been called a “hippie town,” so it’s no wonder it’s the home of Rocky Gregory, author of “One Groovy Summer.” The novel follows the adventures of Will and his friend, Skip, during the summer of 1968. It was a time of sex, drugs and rock and roll — and a time Gregory himself...

For Encinitas author Nancy Johnson, Civil War letters written by her great-great-uncles not only transported her back in time to a defining era in the United States, but also inspired a lifelong love of history and became the catalyst for a trilogy of books. All three of her chapter books, written...

Attendees at the Authors’ Salon last month, hosted by Hera Hub and moderated by Linda Scott — founder of eFrog Press — hung onto every word that Edith Hope Fine had to say about the world of writing books for children. Fine, a retired elementary school teacher from the Encinitas Union School District,...

Growing up on a farm in Indiana, one of Winona Ruth Gunther’s fondest memories is discussing world events with her father. Although he died just before the attack on Pearl Harbor in 1941, his patriotism is what inspired Gunther and three of her 12 siblings to later join the military. “My father...